42210 Séraphin Costume Mauve – Figurine Resine 12cm – Jolyon Wagg In A Purple Suit

Author: Hergé
Price: £65.00 including UK postage
Publisher: Moulinsart
Format: Resin in original cello tube packaging
Condition: Brand new
Size: 18.5cm including packaging

Séraphin Lampion – Jolyon Wagg: A Brief Biography

Séraphin Lampion is a recurring comic character in Hergé’s The Adventures of Tintin. Unlike the more sinister figures Tintin encounters, Lampion provides humour through his garrulous nature, his obliviousness to social cues, and his tendency to impose upon others. He stands as one of the most vivid examples of Hergé’s ability to create characters who, though not central to the plot, enrich the stories with depth and colour.

Character Profile

Lampion is introduced as a well-meaning but exasperating insurance salesman. His full name, Séraphin Lampion, reflects his comical quality—“Lampion” suggesting a lantern or light, a name that captures his brash and overbearing personality. Physically, he is plump, jovial, and round-faced, often shown with thinning hair. His attire is that of a provincial bourgeois: suits that look a little ill-fitting, a bow tie, and accessories that underline his eagerness to appear respectable.

Lampion’s manner is intrusive and loquacious. He talks incessantly, often about trivialities, and seems entirely unaware of how much he irritates those around him, especially Captain Haddock. He represents the type of neighbour or acquaintance who cannot take a hint and overstays his welcome at every opportunity.

First Appearance and Development

Lampion first appears in The Calculus Affair, a story charged with espionage, political intrigue, and international tension. Into this dramatic atmosphere, Hergé introduces Lampion as a source of comic relief. His untimely visits to Marlinspike Hall disrupt the serious business of dealing with Professor Calculus’s kidnapping. While Tintin and Haddock are preoccupied with urgent matters, Lampion arrives cheerfully to sell insurance policies, discuss family holidays, or otherwise waste time.

Though initially a minor figure, he reappears in later albums such as Tintin and the Picaros. His repeated presence establishes him as part of the extended cast of Marlinspike Hall, a foil to the gravity of Tintin’s adventures.

Relationship with Other Characters

Lampion’s interactions with Captain Haddock are central to his comic role. Haddock finds him unbearable—an irritation that grows every time Lampion visits the Hall. Their exchanges often highlight Haddock’s short temper and Lampion’s imperviousness to offence. Tintin, though more patient, is not immune to frustration at Lampion’s endless chatter.

Despite his irritating qualities, Lampion is not malicious. Unlike the series’ villains, he has no agenda beyond promoting his insurance business and boasting about his family, particularly his children. He is, in effect, an ordinary man, exaggerated into caricature, who happens to live on the edge of Tintin’s extraordinary world.

Thematic Significance

Séraphin Lampion functions as a comic counterweight within The Adventures of Tintin. His presence reminds readers that not every challenge Tintin faces is sinister or dangerous; sometimes it is the nuisance of everyday life that proves hardest to endure. Lampion embodies banality—an ordinary, small-town personality colliding with the exceptional drama of Tintin’s universe.

Hergé’s skill lies in giving such a character enough life to be memorable. While he does not influence the outcomes of Tintin’s adventures, Lampion adds realism and humour, ensuring the stories remain grounded in the kinds of social encounters familiar to readers.

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Cataloguer: Daniel Hornsey

Daniel Hornsey has specialised in fine and rare books, ephemera, and collectors’ editions for over thirty years. As a long-standing member of the antiquarian book trade, he has advised private collectors, curated catalogues, and sourced works for leading dealers, libraries and institutions across the world.

Hornseys’ exhibit regularly at book and map fairs in London and throughout the UK and are members of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association, the PBFA.

His fascination with Hergé’s work — especially ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ — began in childhood. Daniel recalls reading Tintin in original European editions and quickly recognising that these were not merely children’s books, but finely illustrated narratives crafted with artistic depth and wit.

As noted by the Musée Hergé in Louvain-la-Neuve, Hergé’s ‘ligne claire’ style has influenced generations of European comic artists and his original drawings and paintings command very high prices with his painting of ‘The Blue Lotus’ jar fetching £2.8m at auction in 2021.

By presenting these works through Hornseys’, he hopes to contribute to the continued appreciation of one of the 20th century’s most influential illustrators, helping new generations discover the artistry and legacy of Hergé.